The Spots

You’ll wait an hour for a $5 slice, but when it comes to Brooklyn pizza, nothing is as legendary as Di Fara. The quality ingredients, perfect sauce, and painstaking attention to detail make a trip to Di Fara an absolute requirement.

Want to wait for slightly less long than you would at Lucali? Giuseppina in South Slope is run by the same people. The experience overall doesn’t quite replicate the Lucali magic, but the pizza is nearly as good. Which is to say, pretty amazing.

Don’t visit Coney Island to eat a Nathan’s hot dog. Visit coney island to eat pizza at Totonno’s. The OG of the OG’s, Totonno’s has been slinging chewy crusted doughy ovals of happiness since before your grandmother was born. Say hello to Cookie while you’re there – she’s been running the place since the beginning and she is all business.

Emily in Clinton Hill is our favorite new school pizza-serving restaurant in New York. The thin-crusted but still doughy pizza comes in tons of varieties: we recommend the pepperoni and pickled chili-topped Colony, the vodka pie, or the sweet pistachio-topped Emily. Finish off with a burger. Also incredible.

The people behind Emily opened this newer spot in Williamsburg where they serve rectangular pizzas. The pizza aren't Sicilian, however - they're Detroit-style. That means crispy crust on the outside, fluffy crust on the inside, and plenty of cheese. Get yours with burrata and basil or just stick to the pepperoni.

At some point in its lifetime, Roberta’s really could have easily become the butt of a joke. A Bushwick restaurant run by stoners, with a radio station and an “urban garden,” that Manhattanites and tourists love to obsess over and which regularly has two hour waits? Come on. Instead, it’s become an icon. That’s in large part because the pizza is consistently incredibly good (as is the rest of the food). No matter what, we always have a great time at Roberta’s.

Pizza has never been more fun, more exciting, or more satisfying than it is at Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint. A barn of cheesy happiness, Paulie’s pizzas are all kinds of creative. He brings hot honey into play for the Hellboy, our favorite, dried cherries and prosciutto di parma on the Cherry Jones, and even the Vegan Pizza is insanely good, with house made sausage and cashew “ricotta.”

L&B is like a children’s birthday party, but better. Pizza and ice cream are what L&B, a local favorite out in south Brooklyn, are all about. You’ll want the famous square slice, and a cup of spumoni – a kind of Italian ice/ice cream hybrid.

From Brooklyn to the East Village, and now back to Brooklyn, Motorino is one of the old guys these days, but it’s still one of the best. The Spicy Sopressata pie would be on our list of best pies anywhere, let alone Brooklyn. Brussels sprouts pie isn’t far behind.

Williamsburg Pizza is your neighborhood pizza place, but better. The pizza is an ode to the classic New York slice, but with a fresh spin and a variety of different options. Definitely get down on some of the funkier stuff, but don’t be afraid to just go for a piece of thick cheese pizza. It’s one of the best you’ll come across.

Naming yourself Best Pizza and opening up shop in the middle of Williamsburg is a bold move. Fortunately, Best Pizza does belong on a best pizza list. They execute classic New York pies and white pies at very high level, and unlike so many others on this list, the place is laid back and operated by very nice and friendly people.